The unexpected pairings, combat options and huge locales of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

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Last month, I was lucky enough to get a sneak peek at an early version of Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Though still early in development, it’s showing loads of promise. I was able to get unprecedented access to the minds at developer Naughty Dog to learn more about Naughty Dog’s next Uncharted adventure.

First, the setting. In moving the action to the southern tip of India, The Lost Legacy injects a fresh surge of colour and personality – closer to the pulpier feel of the original Uncharted, in some ways. “Beautiful, big landscapes to traverse and explore, that sense of a surprise around every corner,” Creative Director Shaun Escayg told me. “We wanted to bring more of that back.”

The Lost Legacy is a new story set six to 12 months after the events of Uncharted 4. The action kicks off with a search for a priceless relic – the Tusk of Ganesha – and a decidedly unlikely pairing.

How and why Nadine and Chloe are Lost Legacy’s co-leads

Chloe Frazer and Nadine Ross are reluctant partners who don’t see eye-to-eye, but who must work together to obtain the priceless Tusk from a mysterious warlord named Asav. “I like to figure things out as I go,” Chloe mutters at one point in the gameplay demo. “I noticed,” Nadine snorts.

“Asav, Chloe, and Nadine all have different reasons for wanting the Tusk.” — Josh Scherr, writer, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

Why revisit Chloe? For Naughty Dog, it was an easy decision. “She’s an interesting character with a darker moral compass compared to Drake,” Writer Josh Scherr remarks: “They’re both treasure hunters. Drake has a bit of a hero complex, but Chloe looks out for number one, first and foremost.” It’s Chloe who initiates the hunt for the Tusk.

Nadine reenters the picture for different reasons, partially born out of the consequences of her actions in Uncharted 4. With Shoreline crumbling, she’s out of work and desperate.

“Chloe would need somebody with military expertise,” Escayg said. “In all of Uncharted, Nadine is probably the most rational and practical character we’ve ever introduced,” Scherr added. “She tends to take a direct approach.”

Bringing them together helps each character accentuate the other. “They’re opposites. Chloe is spontaneous and impulsive, where Nadine is by the book, structured,” Escayg explained. “That made for a good pairing.”

And you better believe that relationship is going to develop over the course of the game. “Both of them are in positions they aren’t used to being in,” Game Director Kurt Margenau said. “Chloe, in terms of taking charge. Nadine, who is used to running the show, is now the hired gun. They’re both figuring it out as they go.”

The biggest Uncharted levels yet

With characters and the setup out of the way, it was time to get a closer look at the game itself. Based on what I saw, The Lost Legacy’s overall gameplay style will be familiar to Uncharted 4 veterans. But Naughty Dog is determined to add further refinements and enhancements based on lessons learned during Uncharted 4’s lengthy development cycle.

Starting with the level design. In one pivotal section of the game, the team wants to provide a more expansive environment that gives players more ways to explore at their own pace – “the biggest [area] ever for an Uncharted game,” Margenau mentioned.

While developing Uncharted 4, Naughty Dog had hoped to go even bigger on certain huge locations such as Madagascar, Art Director Tate Mosesian explained to me. But some concessions had to be made in the interests of maintaining the game’s development schedule. Not so with The Lost Legacy, where the game will benefit from an updated production process that can see up to five teams working on one location at a time.

“It’s got a bigger, more organic feel, with more player choice.” — Kurt Margenau, game director, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy

In The Lost Legacy, this translates into a sprawling level with traversal challenges, environmental puzzles, shootouts, and more.

It’s honeycombed with secrets too, with new hidden treasures that will reward persistent players who try to traverse everything they can see.

There’s loads of environmental variety, too, partly thanks to the natural diversity seen in the Western Ghats region of southern India. You’ll explore lush jungles, soaring mountains, and ancient temples, in addition to the war-torn urban environment seen in the PSX 2016 reveal.

The new weapons and tools of the game

There is some new combat gear to master, too. A silenced pistol (The first lethal stealth weapon in Uncharted history!) will add new tactical wrinkles to The Lost Legacy’s stealth play and expand your combat options.

Meanwhile, C4 proved so popular among Uncharted 4’s loyal multiplayer community that Naughty Dog couldn’t resist adding it to The Lost Legacy. Why not?

There also seems to be an increased range of options available for combat encounters. “There are entire combat setups that you can skip, go around, or approach from any direction,” Margenau explained. “It’s got a bigger, more organic feel, with more player choice and more stealth options.”

Another new mechanic, lockpicking, was first seen in the game’s PlayStation Experience 2016 debut trailer. Though the exact lockpicking mechanics are still a work in progress, the team was so fixated on capturing the tactile feel of the act in-game that they purchased a real lockpicking kit to practice with. That’s dedication!

One thing that definitely won’t be changing, though, is Naughty Dog’s approach to the series’ iconic action setpieces – some of the most memorable moments in gaming. “We obviously love them,” Margenau teased, adding that The Lost Legacy will include setpieces that do “things we’ve never done.” Sorry folks – I couldn’t squeeze anything more out of him than that.

About a possible Nathan Drake cameo…

It’s worth noting that The Lost Legacy, which will be launching later this year as a standalone game, will be a lengthier experience than The Last of Us: Left Behind, but shorter than Uncharted 4.

As for fans hoping for a Nathan Drake cameo in The Lost Legacy? “We entertained a few possible ideas around including Nate as a secondary character,” Scherr explained. “But everything we did felt superfluous because we tied it all up with Uncharted 4.” Margenau was even more direct. “We’re not going to touch on Nathan Drake in this, at all.” So, uh, maybe don’t hold your breath.

“You can sort of imagine Drake sitting on the couch playing Crash Bandicoot while Chloe and Nadine are off galavanting,” Scherr joked. “Yeah, the Crash Bandicoot remaster,” Margenau added.

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I absolutely adore Uncharted, and am really excited to it expanding itself by including more playable characters. The story does not have to end with Nathan Drake and I firmly believe the universe could easily go on for quite some time. I also actively encourage standalone expansions like this, we do not get enough of them and they are perfect to hold back urges for franchises like Uncharted!

I do however have a single gripe. Where is my single player DLC content for Uncharted 4? D: it was pretty much the entire reason I bought the season pass.

Its funny the way all the character’s in Uncharted made this huge jump in the way they look in the transition to PS4. But for some reason Chloe looks VERY like she did in Uncharted 2 (and there is nothing wrong with that because I hated the way she looked in U3, she was a bit weird looking).

Because the previous (male) playable character’s story is complete and these are characters whose stories haven’t been brought to a conclusion yet?

“It should be optional”. What an asinine statement. These are narrative driven games. You can’t just change the gender of a character whose whole backstory is integral to the story. If you have a problem playing female characters I suggest you stick to games that proffer the option to select gender and let the rest of us enjoy great gaming experiences.

It was never called a “Season Pass” in the context of the way you are implying. It was simply called the “Triple Pack” that came with “future access to the first-ever single-player story add-on for the Uncharted series and two multiplayer packs that will unlock new, rare and legendary multiplayer items”. It was also only price around 20 quid.And yet again, YES, if you have the “Season Pass” as you call it, you get this single player expansion then. They said this when The Lost Legacy was announced.

Looking forward to this but hope you can help in meantime. Have upgraded to pro and am now unable to download my purchased digital copy of uncharted. It does not give me an option to download and when I go on the store I can’t do anything there either as it’s saying I have already purchased. Will let me download the multiplayer beta though!!!

Wait…if this is set 6-12 months after U4…then Drake and Elena dont have kid yet and he can easily be involved especially after buying his bosses business it would come in handy.And for some reason….it just does not feel right without Nathan and his wife.Their constant chat during U4 was my favourite part of the game.Same goes for Ellie and Joel in TLOU.Naughty Dog are magical when it comes to “in game” character conversation,so this one could be tricky to pull off.I have faith in them,but still not convinced about Chloe and Nadine.Neither of them have Elena’s charm or Nathans cheek and childish stupidity.